Lair of Serpents
by Moon Eunsoon
Summary: "It was her seventh year at Hogwarts, and Evelyn Rukin was prepared. She couldn't wait to get back to the school because she rather loved to study. Everyone in the other Houses saw her as a bookworm, but to the Slytherin House, where she was sorted, she was seen as either a genius or a rival." There was only one person who could match her intelligence- Tom Riddle.


**Lair of Serpents**

**Chapter 1**

It was her seventh year at Hogwarts, and Evelyn Rukin was prepared. She couldn't wait to get back to the school because she rather loved to study. Everyone in the other Houses saw her as a bookworm, but to the Slytherin House, where she was sorted, she was seen as either a genius or a rival. No one could match her intelligence, save for one Slytherin whom Evelyn had heard of and never wanted to have to confront- Tom Riddle. Although, this year he had become Head Boy of Slytherin House. So, she would have to at least follow whatever he directed them to do.

As Evelyn came upon the Slytherin dorm's entrance, she heard faint sounds of cheer. Curiously, she opened the door to see a crowd of Slytherins praising Tom for becoming the Head Boy. To her, he looked very proud of himself and wasn't ashamed to let everyone else know. She sighed at the annoying earsplitting merriment and would have continued to her room if something hadn't stopped her. Tom just so happened to glance over at her because she seemed to be the only person not applauding him. She caught his glance and slowly turned away while he smugly stood there.

When she just kept walking, Tom became somewhat annoyed, which showed on his face when he randomly glanced across the room in astonishment. "Who does that girl think she is?" Tom heard his comrade, Nott, say. Joining in the conversation, another of Tom's gang members, Abraxus Malfoy, also put in, "She should be taught a lesson." Tom quickly raised his hand and shook his head. "Let it be. We'll just wait and see what happens."

Already in her room by now, Evelyn sat on her bed reading a new textbook that she had been dying to get her hands on. She was so absorbed in the book that she didn't hear the other girls enter the room. "Hello! Rukin! I'm talking to you!" Evelyn looked up to see a snobby older girl with greasy black hair. "Oh, Suella. What is it?" Evelyn questioned casually. Suella rolled her eyes with a snort following. "My gosh! You don't even have manners to congratulate a fellow Slytherin. What's wrong with you?" Evelyn just stared blankly at her, "I haven't a clue what you mean."

Suella's blood was boiling now, "You dolt! How did you ever get sorted here?" The other girls in the room began whispering amongst themselves and staring at the two girls. "Well, I was originally sorted into Ravenclaw, as you well know. But, for some reason, the Headmaster decided that I be sorted again in my second year. Then, I ended up in Slytherin," Evelyn explained. Dumbfounded, Suella just threw a pillow at Evelyn's head, "Whatever! What a weirdo!" Still huffing, she stomped off to yell at someone else.

That was the odd thing about Evelyn being resorted. Why did it happen? It was quite unusual for a student to ever change Houses. No one had ever done it that Evelyn could recall. Of course, she hadn't been around for the whole time that Hogwarts was either. Books on such things would have been hidden or destroyed. It was such a mystery to her, and she couldn't get her head around it. Whatever the case, Evelyn wouldn't worry about it. She had more important things to do, like reading.

The following day, after classes had ended, Evelyn recalled Tom telling them that morning that there would be a meeting in the Slytherin Common Room. Everyone was required to attend. Throwing the thought away, Evelyn decided that it would be a bad idea to get around Tom because she didn't quite like his attitude. So, she wouldn't go to the meeting; she would go off to study some more of her precious textbooks. 'Off to the library!' she thought happily.

Meanwhile, Tom did a headcount to make sure everyone was present at his meeting. It wasn't long before he realized that the annoying girl wasn't present. His comrades noticed, when he rolled his eyes quickly, that Evelyn was missing. Looking over at Tom, Abraxus motioned his eyes to the door as if asking if he should bring Evelyn. Tom curtly shook his head and began the meeting anyway. Mars Avery, another one in Tom's gang, leaned over and whispered to Nott, "Is it that Rukin girl? Why isn't she here?" Nott shrugged wearily. Mars frowned and decided to wait for orders from Tom.

A long while had passed by now, and Evelyn was just realizing that it had gotten dark out. Grimacing from her stiff shoulders, Evelyn stood up from the table in the library and picked up her books. She was getting very tired from the immense amount of reading that she had just done. Now, she would head back to the dorm and try to get some sleep before she had to start the next day.

As she awkwardly staggered down the hall, she tried her best to hold onto her textbooks. Out of nowhere, Tom Riddle was standing before her, and the books almost fell from her hands. She jolted to a halt. "Gosh!" she breathed. He grinned, "Oh, did I give you a fright?" She nodded quickly and caught herself staring from guilt at his feet. He continued, "I seem to recall informing everyone this morning of the meeting for the whole Slytherin House. I was just wondering, did you happen to forget?"

Glancing off at other things in the hall made her look even more guilty than she already was. "I- I'm so sorry. I was caught up in a bit of light reading at the library and forgot all about it," she lied. Tom's grin was still there, "You call textbooks light reading? Well, anyway..." He was not smiling now, "If you miss another meeting, you might just receive detention. Do try to remember next time." Staring with a surprised look, Evelyn nodded and rushed past him to the dorm. He grinned again, "What a weird girl."


End file.
